Joy Part One

 

So far this Advent, we have tended to the hope hovering around us and humming within us.  We have noticed and named the ways hope longs to get a word in edgewise.  We have sat in the stillness and silence with peace.  We had a dialogue with peace ~ I pray you might still be playfully and prayerfully continuing that conversation in your mind/heart/soul.  Now this week, we open ourselves to joy.

 

I did not learn how to exercise the muscle of joy as a child.  I come from a mixture of English and German people.  I come from folks who told me to have a stiff upper lip and the great German wisdom that you can’t always get what you want.  In other words, we were a house of Eeyores, not Tiggers (for my Winnie the Pooh fans out there).  We were a family of Grumpy Dwarfs and not many Happy Dwarfs.  Feel free to add your own cultural reference to make this relevant here.

 

My point is that joy is taught, and joy is caught.  And at the same time, joy can be delayed and deferred.  Ever found yourself saying, “I will be sooooo much happier when…(fill in the blank).”  Perhaps when you are on vacation or finished with that project or no longer have to work with that person who pushes all the buttons and has the nuclear codes to your soul.  Moreover, we don’t trust joy to stick around.  Joy comes in unexpected, unplanned ways that causes our Spidey-senses to be suspicious.  After all, our rational/reasonable brains want to say, if joy just showed up unannounced, joy might leave just as quickly. 

 

Better to just trust that the other shoe will drop.  Or something is too good to be true. 

 

If we thought that lighting a candle of “Hope” and “Peace” in the world right now was counter-cultural…lighting a candle of “Joy” might really push to the edge of what makes logical sense.

 

Yet, we preach and proclaim that God’s joy still swirls and stirs and sings to us every day ~ if ~ and it is a big “if” we are willing to listen and lean in and trust something bigger and braver and bolder than ourselves and what we comprehend.

 

What might “Joy” be asking you to attend to today?  Maybe the joy of finding a present for a family member.  Maybe the joy of a Christmas card slowly read that arrives in the mail.  What if, you went back through all your Christmas cards so far and named one quality about each person who sent you a card you appreciate or admire?  And then, what if, you shared that with the person?  Email the person that you appreciate the card and how you enjoyed the camping trip you took years ago.  Call the person, thank them for the card, and share a tender memory with each other about a time you laughed or a lunch you shared.  Write the person back, telling him or her, one specific way s/he is leaving fingerprints on your heart.

 

Not your typical Christmas card…I know.  But such a holy moment might be needed now more than ever both for you to remember the ways joy shows up in your life and the people you share joy with. 

 

Thank you, dear faithful readers of these morning mediations.  Your comments, your love, your presence in my life brings a smile to my face.  You share joy with me that reminds me God is good all the time…and all the time God is good.  Amen.